Jenny Eclair
Comedian, novelist and actress Jenny Eclair, 57, has been in tV for 30 years, and is about to go on tour, alongside Dillie Keane and lizzie Roper, with her show Grumpy Old Women to the Rescue. the entertainer, who recently married Geoff Powell after 35 years together, loves strong peppermint tea and her hot-water bottle…
How do you take your tea?
Weak and black. I like a weak Earl Grey, but I like a strong peppermint, and I like a Lady Grey. I don’t like builder’s tea – can’t be doing with it. The bane of my life is a theatre dressing room without a decent teabag. I have to travel with a box of peppermint tea. The best tour managers have a box of assorted teas.
Who would you most like to have a cup of tea with?
Madonna still intrigues me. I want to see what she looks like close up. And I wish Princess Margaret was alive. Actually, I’m not having Madonna! I’m going to boot her out and am going for Princess Margaret in her heyday instead. I’d also put a drop of whisky in for her – I don’t think she’d take tea any other way.
Do you worry about being away from home for a long time when you’re away on tour?
With a big tour like this, you can’t think of 60 dates, as you’ll go mad. Don’t think beyond the first week. It’s hard, but I am really used to it. In the
winter, I take a hot-water bottle and have learned how to make myself comfortable.
Who was your last heckler and how did you respond?
The last one I got was, ‘Watch your blood pressure, Jenny!’ because I was getting a bit ranty on stage, and a nurse two rows back shouted it out, which I thought was kind. I said, ‘Thank you very much.
I do have a problem and I’m on medication.’
What’s still on your career bucket list?
More of what I have done – shows and books. I’d also like a lovely afternoon chat show. So easy – answers and autocue inside your ear!
Grumpy Old Women Live’s brand-new stage show To the Rescue is touring nationwide from 28 march-24 June 2018. For info and tickets, visit grumpyold womenlive.com
afternoon ‘I’d like a lovely easy…’ chat show. So